Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2016:2016:8463731.
doi: 10.1155/2016/8463731. Epub 2016 Mar 10.

HER2 Protein Overexpression and Gene Amplification in Plasmacytoid Urothelial Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder

Bohyun Kim  1 , Gilhyang Kim  1 , Boram Song  1 , Cheol Lee  1 , Jeong Hwan Park  1 , Kyung Chul Moon  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

HER2 Protein Overexpression and Gene Amplification in Plasmacytoid Urothelial Carcinoma of the Urinary Bladder

Bohyun Kim et al. Dis Markers. 2016.

Abstract

Aim: HER2 overexpression has been reported in a minority of urothelial carcinomas, but little is known about HER2 protein expression and gene alterations in plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma, a rare and aggressive variant. The aim of this study was to clarify the HER2 status in plasmacytoid urothelial carcinomas.

Methods: Six cases of plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma were included, in which we evaluated HER2 protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and HER2 gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Results: The patients' ages ranged from 57 to 83 years (mean age, 71 years). Five patients were male and one was female. The ratio of the plasmacytoid component ranged from 30% to 100% (mean, 77%). HER2 expression score was 3+ in 4 cases, 2+ in one case, and negative in one case. HER2 gene amplification was positive in 3 cases, of which 2 cases showed a 3+ HER2 IHC score but one case was negative for HER2 IHC. Another 2 cases showed equivocal HER2 FISH results, and one remaining case was negative for HER2 FISH.

Conclusion: Our observation that plasmacytoid urothelial carcinomas frequently demonstrated HER2 protein overexpression provides supporting evidence that HER2 may be a potential therapeutic target for plasmacytoid urothelial carcinoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Plasmacytoid component of case 1 (a) showed diffuse 3+ HER2 IHC positivity (b) and HER2 gene amplification (HER2/CEP17 ratio 5.8) by FISH (c). Case 3 (d) was negative for HER2 by IHC (e), but the HER2 gene was amplified (HER2/CEP17 ratio 2.06) (f). Case 4 (g) showed 2+ HER2 by IHC (h) and equivocal HER2 FISH results (HER2/CEP17 ratio 1.81 and average HER2 gene copy number 4.9) (i).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Case 1 (a) and case 4 (b) showed strong diffuse immunopositivity for CD138.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Shanks J. H., Iczkowski K. A. Divergent differentiation in urothelial carcinoma and other bladder cancer subtypes with selected mimics. Histopathology. 2009;54(7):885–900. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2008.03167.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Amin M. B. Histological variants of urothelial carcinoma: diagnostic, therapeutic and prognostic implications. Modern Pathology. 2009;22(2):S96–S118. doi: 10.1038/modpathol.2009.26. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Samaratunga H., Delahunt B. Recently described and unusual variants of urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder. Pathology. 2012;44(5):407–418. doi: 10.1097/PAT.0b013e3283560172. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Monn M. F., Kaimakliotis H. Z., Pedrosa J. A., et al. Contemporary bladder cancer: variant histology may be a significant driver of disease. Urologic Oncology: Seminars and Original Investigations. 2015;33(1):18.e15–18.e20. doi: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2014.10.001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ro J. Y., Shen S. S., Lee H. I., et al. Plasmacytoid transitional cell carcinoma of urinary bladder: a clinicopathologic study of 9 cases. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology. 2008;32(5):752–757. doi: 10.1097/pas.0b013e318159af9e. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types